The Forest

-12-

Aspen watched the fire's constant, ravenous hunger as it ate through the strips of wood that had been laid down in the hearth. A charred and oakley aroma escaped from the chimney-bound smoke and filled the room, acrid but somehow comforting. Crackles and flickers were the only thing that kept him from drifting off to sleep. They were also the only distraction from the incessant aching in his arm.

Beside him, Aria was laying a blanket down over Azure. The girl had fallen dead-asleep on the moss circling the alcove after she and Aspen's return home. A long and testing discussion with the should-be five Captains had filled the evening and night; four had been present in Brianna's absence, with Mouse attending in her place. For people that had such fierce personal opinions about humans, and about their human in particular, it was unbelievable that none of them had been able to come up with a plan on how to rescue Rosin which didn't involve Lucius in some way. Hours of debating for nothing. All that had come of the discussions was an unspoken tension and even more stress. The back and forth had exhausted Aspen, he couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Azure when most of the comments were directed at her. All decisions ultimately fell to the Elder.

Azure slept motionlessly on the moss, her energy wholly spent.
"Bless her heart..." Aria touched the girl's cold forehead, "She's working too hard."
"She never changes." Aspen murmured, not looking away from the flames. He wished he had never allowed the other Captains to push her into being in charge. From the start she had hated it, and now it was just getting ridiculous. Why couldn't people just make their own decisions without having a figurehead leader? But he reminded himself that it could be worse: "At least she's not running around on her own like before."
His mother shivered in spite of the roaring flames, "Don't remind me. That awful creature, taking her like that..."
No reply to that particular comment.

She looked to Aspen. The boy was perched on the edge of the moss just beside Azure, arms crossed. His eyes were somewhere faraway, dazed in the flickering embers, and in his subconscious thought he thumbed the lacerated scar that traced the length of his arm. Restless.
Aria's heart softened.

She came to her son and brushed his hair from his eyes, neatened the strands around his ears.
"Mum." He groaned. Though he didn't shove her away, only averted his gaze, as if to tell her he was too old to be fussed over.
She held her cool palms to either side of his face and looked fixedly at him. Still, he kept his eyes on the fire. Aria searched his face, then touched under his eyes, "You look tired, sweetheart. Go to sleep."
After some hesitation, Aspen's somber eyes turned to her. "I won't be able to sleep. This is so bad. Rosin-"
She hushed him before he could go into a full-on rant, "If Azure can sleep, you can sleep."
Aspen glanced at the said girl, dozing peacefully. He opened his mouth, Aria spoke over him, "Go. The night will only get colder the longer you wait."
But Aspen shook his head. The words he had been trying to keep back were released, "I can't sleep without her." And in the corner of her vision, Aria saw him close his hand over the long scar.
Her heart ached for his hurting face, but she maintained her earlier words. "You must try." She lightly kissed his forehead, "There will be times when you two aren't together."
Aspen jerked back as if she had uttered a death sentence, "Don't say that."
"It's true. I know it's not easy, I know. But you must try to get past your fears."
His face twisted up like he couldn't believe she had just said those words. Aria leant to hug him, but he stood up before she could, shoved his way out of her arms.
"Aspen." She sighed.
Aspen made a sound that might have been Goodnight and trudged up the stairs.

Aria sat on the moss in quiet and listened to the fire burning. Faintly she could hear Aspen's footsteps upstairs, Azure's soft breathing, but the fire was loudest. Her mind turned over and over.
Perhaps her children weren't totally grown up after all. They still needed a little help when things got tough. But she didn't know what to do about this, any of this. Rosin abducted, Viridis late back from Bruon. Aspen's... trauma. She thought that might be the right word for it. He still hadn't recovered from whatever that human did to him, not really. He may not like her addressing his behaviour as what it was- fear- but acting as though something never happened isn't getting over it. And she knew that from experience. At the first mention of humans, Aspen reverted right back to that frail and trembling boy Lucius had returned to her. Azure couldn't be his only comfort. That girl already had enough on her shoulders, and her own memories to tackle.